Labour’s Budget has turned a blind eye to road maintenance, with funding for State Highway and local road maintenance decreasing by millions, National’s Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

“Funding for State Highway maintenance has decreased by $164 million in this year’s National Land Transport Fund Budget allocation, while local road maintenance has decreased by a massive $314 million.

“That’s a 25 per cent reduction in maintenance funding for our State Highways, and more than a 40 per cent reduction in maintenance funding for our local roads.

“This morning, Transport Minister Michael Wood disputed the figures but failed to say what the funding allocation actually was. He needs to be clear how much is going into road maintenance.

“Labour has spent money out in all the wrong places – including funding cancelled cycle bridges, speed reduction plans, and land acquisition for the failed Auckland Light Rail.

“This money would have been better spent on fixing the record number of potholes on our State Highways.

“Kiwis can expect more potholes on the roads and less maintenance of State Highways as Labour continues to spend millions on projects which don’t help the majority of New Zealanders.

“National will fix the economy and bring fiscal discipline back to transport spending by focusing on the infrastructure projects that matter to New Zealanders.”